


New Endings

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), M/M, yeah you heard me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-03-14 18:16:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13595661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: For the last two years, Keith has been completely alone. Nothing in his life meant anything. He simply kept going without any purpose, serving a faceless organization that hardly got anything done. But one day, he receives a call. A call to join Team Voltron, a call to become the Red Paladin, a call to meet new people. Though begrudgingly, he answers it. THIS FIC HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.





	1. Yellow Clouds and Black Armor

Keith stumbled into his quarters, panting and pretty much completely devoid of energy. He tossed his knife to the floor, leaving warm stains on the cold metal. His mask undid itself, leaving his sweaty face exposed to the near-freezing artificial air of the outpost. He bent over, hands resting on his knees, and took a deep breath, trying his best to relax. He was about as successful as you’d imagine. Once he got back up, which took more time than he’d like to admit to, he stepped out of his tiny room, finding himself in a slightly less tiny hallway. His hair swayed in the air flow, which probably created a nice image for any potential onlookers but just meant there was a stream of freezing fake wind in his face. He stepped into the larger hall, which, as always, stood completely empty. Blue screens dangled in the air, illuminating the various consoles and keyboards. He pressed a button on his belt, and his breastplate popped right off his shirt. The thin armor clanked against the floor, red stains standing out against the glossy metal. He slipped out his boots and started making his way for the shower, slowly shedding his pants as he walked. And then, because privacy is dead and was never alive, the room was filled with an echoing voice.

 

“Hello? Hellooooooo? Black Lion to Marmora Outpost 00675?” the voice was flowing and melodic, switching notes at least twice on that dragged _hello_. “Any future Red Paladin there to pick up?” Keith choked up when those particular two words were uttered. Even if he wanted to pick up, he couldn’t get himself to move. “In any case, I’m just gonna keep going and assume you’re screening me. In case you’re wondering why I haven’t graced you with my beautiful face yet, my lion’s comms have been a bit faulty, so this is an audio-only call. I’ll be there to pick you up in a few vargas, so this is your last call to pack your shit up. Can’t wait to meet you! I’m Lance, by the way. Lance Álvarez-McClain.” someone on the other side flicked a switch, and the call ended as abruptly as it started.

 

Keith stood there for a solid minute, stiff as a rock. _A few vargas_ . That’s all he had before getting nabbed off to spend the rest of his life with complete strangers. Before he’d be forced to spend his days defending a universe that didn’t care about him. Finally managing to move his body, he continued his journey to the shower, leaving bloody footprints. The boy on the other side of the call sound nice enough, though that might not have been the case, had he made a video call. _Lance_ _Á_ _lvarez-McClain._ What kind of name was that? It sounded… Weird. Foreign. **Human.** But pleasant as it was, the thought was dismissed. As far as he was told, humans barely made it to the edge of their native galaxy, so one being all the way out here? He kept entertaining the idea as the stepped into the shower. He looked down at his body, bloody and bruised. Strutting around naked probably won’t go over well with whoever he gets stuck with. He couldn’t even begin to imagine living with anyone else. Just the thought of having to share space seemed beyond horrifying. Then again, it might be nice to have someone to talk to. He’s been completely silent for the last… two weeks, he estimated. Since Kolivan last checked in on him.

 

After twenty minutes of sulking under a cold stream, he stepped out. Once again, he looked down. Still bruised, no longer bloody. He sat down, his body bare against the almost-freezing floor. The cold wall tingled his spine, but he hardly noticed. About a million thoughts ran through his head, and he didn’t care for most of them. He’s never worked in a team before. The closest he ever got to it was keeping comms with Kozok on a mission, and even then they spoke maybe twice over that entire week. And now he was supposed to be a part of Voltron? As if. The only good part he could see about the situation is getting to handle that gigantic sword, but even then he’ll probably fuck it up beyond belief. And on that cheery note, his exhaustion finally caught up to him. His back slid against the wall, eventually leaving him lying on the floor. His eyes fell shut, and the sounds from the various machinery around him quickly faded to silence.

 

And just like that, after what felt like zero time, he was quite rudely awakened by a deafeningly loud rumble just outside. Either Lance Álvarez-McClain has come to pick him up, or the outpost was being hit by a meteor. He sprung to his feet, ignoring the terrible soreness in his neck for the moment. He got dressed hurriedly, knowing someone’s gonna be through the door in just a few ticks. He slipped back into his shirt, sloppily popping his breastplate back into place. He sprinted back to his room for his knife, then proceeded to simply wait in front of the door. Every inch of his body was unbelievably tense, like a bomb just waiting to go off. He had absolutely no idea what to expect, except for the Black Lion, apparently. This Lance could be a Bytor, or even a Taujeerian. He still couldn’t shake the idea of him being human, ridiculous as it might seem. If a Galran general and a random human can have a child…

 

The doors opened, and just outside of them stood Lance Álvarez-McClain. Who, despite the bar not being very high, might’ve been the prettiest living being Keith has ever laid eyes upon. Well, maybe _pretty_ wasn’t the right term, but he was certainly a lot to look at. A black V-shape glistened on his chest, letting the entire universe know just who he was and how important he is. Deep blue eyes sparkled behind his helmet’s glossy visor, carefree and kind. He was noticeably taller than Keith, to the point where he could probably use him as a headrest, if so he wished. A thin scar ran from the spot right under his cheek to a point parallel to his nose, standing out against his otherwise-flawless skin.

 

And as if all that wasn’t enough for a lasting first impression, the Black Lion loomed intimidatingly behind him, its eyes so high up they barely looked like anything more than ominous, yellow clouds. A gigantic V burned on its chest, the same shape glowing against the nightly darkness of the lion’s regal body. Its wings stood out sharply, bright glistening red hanging just in front of the bleak, lightless void of space. They were pointed directly ahead, as if the beast was winding up to ram through the building.

 

Lost in thought and admiration, Keith was snapped back to reality by a soft, if a tad concerned, voice. “Hello? Dude, are you listening? Earth to Keith? I asked where your-” he stopped abruptly. “Actually, I don’t think I get to say that. Do I get to say that?” he looked at Keith intently, as if expecting an answer. After further thought, Keith decided he was, in fact, expecting an answer.

 

And so, with a great deal of drama, the first words he’s spoken in weeks escaped his lips. “Can’t say what?” his own voice sounded foreign to him.

 

“ _Earth to Keith_ . Or _Earth to_ anyone, for that matter.” he chuckled, amused at his own mediocre comedy. “Y’know, since I don’t… oh, never mind. I was asking where your luggage is. Or is this everything?”

 

He tugged on his knife’s sheath, looking off to the side. Nothing but a glossy reflection looked back. “This is it.” he paused, quietly waiting for some kind of criticism, or even mockery.

 

Instead, Lance only looked a tad saddened to hear it. “Alright then.” his voice lost quite a bit of his playful enthusiasm, too. “I’ll need to talk to Kolivan about how he treats his young. In the meantime, you ready to get going? Everyone’s dying to meet you.” he spoke quietly and softly, as if trying not to startle an injured animal.

 

“Lead the way.” Keith watched as Lance walked away, waiting a few seconds before following him. As they got closer to the lion, he noticed there was no discernible entrance. “How do we-”

 

And as if the overgrown cat read his mind, it knelt before them, coming as close as it possibly could to eye level. Massive dust clouds rose when its massive torso touched the ground. Its paws slid across the ground, its gigantic claws carving lines so deep and long that one could start a small field there. Even with its head flat against the surface, the lion’s nose hung at twice Keith’s height, at least. The beast’s mouth opened, slowly revealing an intimidating laser blaster, and something that looked like a door next to it. Lance walked towards fairly nonchalantly, not paying much attention to the blaster. Keith assumed he should do the same, and followed the handsome Black Paladin.  


The cockpit was dimly lit, weak purple lights plastered all over. “Um… shouldn’t the Black Lion have black lights? What’s with all the purple?” he felt unfathomably stupid for having to ask that, but curiosity got the better of him.

 

Lance took his seat, then chuckled softly. “Y’know, I asked the same question when I first walked into this baby.” he turned to face Keith. He looked amused, though the latter couldn’t tell why. “It has some very science-y explanation I can’t remember, but the short version is that black light glows purple. I can’t really tell you why, but that’s how it is.” he touched the control handles, and the lion rumbled to life. A few seconds passed, and it detached from the ground swiftly and smoothly, like a toy picked up by a child.  


Keith watched as the outpost disappeared beneath them. That was it. As far as he was concerned, that was the last of the Blade he’ll see. Even when he inevitably gets kicked off Voltron, why should he come back? What’s waiting for him in a practically-abandoned outpost that isn’t waiting on some deserted planet where no one would bother him? The same three rooms that he looked over endlessly in the last two years? No. He was done with the Blade, he was done with Kolivan, he was done spending entire weeks in holes with lasers flying overhead.

 

He turned his attention to the human in the pilot’s seat. _Human_. The word kept repeating in his head, bringing endless questions with it. How did one come to be a Paladin of Voltron, let alone become the Black Paladin? How did a human even get so far away from his native galaxy? That and many more questions rose, but he settled on just one. “Are you… like me?”

 

“Like you in what way?” his voice was calm and playful. He wanted to guess ‘devilishly handsome’, but it was probably a little too early for that.

 

 _Half-made. Incomplete. Not fully belonging anywhere._ “...a hybrid.”

 

“Oh.” Lance’s mood dropped significantly, and his tone gave it away. “No, I don’t think so.” he wanted to avoid the topic, but apparently he had no choice. How do you talk about something like that? “Why do you ask?”

 

To feel less alone in the universe. “I just… don’t really get how a human made it this far from Earth. I mean, didn’t you just make it to the edge of your galaxy? And from what I hear, that didn’t go well, either.”

 

“It’s kind of a long story.” he still remembered first finding Blue in that cave, and the pure, uncut excitement that gripped him when he saw Shiro being wheeled into that tent. “You sure you’re up to it?”

 

“Try me.” Keith couldn’t help but crack a smile. If everyone else on the team was like this guy, maybe this was gonna go better than he thought.

 

Over the course of the next few hours, Lance filled his new right-hand man on everything so far. The Garrison, rescuing Shiro, coming across Blue, and everything else that would be unimaginably boring for any writer to go over in any detail. All that, and what happened to his predecessor as the Red Paladin. “...so yeah, he’s in one of the healing pods now. We can’t really be sure when he’ll wake up, or if he’ll wake up at all. A few days after, Red showed us your outpost’s coordinates, and here we are.” he paused for a moment, letting everything some time to sink in. “Anything else you wanna know?”

 

“No, that’s everything.” that certainly was… a lot to take in. If anything, knowing all that only confirmed that he’ll probably never really belong on the Castle of Lions. These people have already been through _so much_ together, how could he just waltz in and ask to be one of them?


	2. Good Kitty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> read the title again. there's your summary, pretty much

After a pretty uninteresting meet-and-greet, Keith found himself in the armory, along with Lance. “I don’t get it.” He stared at the armor, quite puzzled. His own reflection stared right back at him, tinted red by the V emblazoned on the bulky breastplate. The entire suit looked unnecessarily massive, like it could crush someone to death by falling on them. The rebels wore something similar, but as far as he knew, rebels’ stories never tended to end well. 

 

“How do you… sneak into anywhere with this stuff on? And isn’t it super-heavy?” He wasn’t sure if he was using ‘super’ correctly. He had learned it from the short paladin.  _ Pidge _ , he reminded himself.

 

Lance chuckled, nearly sliding down one of the other glass cases. “Never speak of that.” He paused, regaining his footing. “Keith.” That single word carried an almost unnerving seriousness, like he was going to scold someone. “We fly into battle in gigantic, rainbow-colored cats.” He paused once more, for no discernible reason other than maybe dramatic effect. Keith chuckled at the thought. “Stealth and subtlety aren’t exactly the general mood.” Was this really the guy who was supposed to lead Voltron into battle? 

 

“Besides, have you never played a video game before?” He waited for a response in silence for a few seconds, as realization slowly came over him. “Oh. Right. Sorry. Anyway, you’re a  _ Paladin _ ! Those are the guys that are supposed to be at the front lines, taking the brunt of the action!” 

 

“Alright… if you say so.” He still wasn’t sure if he could even move in that thing, but it didn’t matter at the moment. “Can I see my lion?” He wanted to get a feel for the number of ways he could  let the team down. 

 

“Hold on, first…” Lance opened a closet that hadn’t  appeared to be there before and rummaged around for a few seconds, leaving Keith to appreciate the armor for a little bit longer. It didn’t look too practical to him, but at least it looked nice. 

 

“Got it!” Lance emerged from the closet, holding what appeared to be a small, white-red-black arch. He extended his arm, presumably intending to hand it Keith. “This, my friend, is a bayard. A paladin’s only defense besides these.” He raised his free arm, making a fist. “And honestly, they won’t do ya much good against ten Galra sentries.”

 

Keith took it, not expecting much. “So is it like a blaster, or-” A  searing pain shot from his wrist to his head, like someone had fired a string of laser blasts into his arm. He felt like something was digging around his head, probing around for information. A few seconds passed, then he was damn-near blinded by a gleam of red light. And then there was a sword in his hand. Just like that. It was long and slender, with a single edge and a curved tip. A red arch sloped over his knuckles, reminiscent of the weapon’s original form. “Do… do all of them do this?”

 

Lance took a few seconds to answer, presumably taking them to get himself out of the shock he was apparently in. “Aw man, you got the coolest one! I wish  _ I _ had a pirate sword. I’m sorry.” He smiled apologetically.  “What did you ask?”

 

“I asked if all the bayards do this,” he mumbled, not breaking eye contact with the blade in his hand. “How is this even possible?”

 

“You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve asked that since we first got here. Anyway, the rest of the bayards don’t do exactly  _ that _ .” He gestured to Keith’s blade. “But that’s the general idea with these things.” He paused for a second, his lips slowly stretching to a trouble-making grin. “Wanna go see your lion?” 

 

Keith had no answer. He stood in silence for what felt like an eternity, and he was pretty sure his mouth was hanging  open. The thought of actually setting foot in a lion was terrifying to him, despite having  stepped  out of one barely twenty minutes ago. What if the lion didn’t  respond to him? 

 

“I…” He paused. Why had  he even started talking? Maybe he should get to know everyone better first. Or get some practice with his bayard. And just as the thought crossed his mind, his bayard gleamed again, shrinking back to its original form. Just his luck. “Sure.” His voice carried disinterest, but Lance continued to grin nonetheless. Hopefully an asteroid would hit him, and this would be over quickly. 

 

They walked out of the armory, Keith’s bayard now awkwardly hanging from a belt loop. As they walked, a thick air of awkwardness quickly settled  between them. Quick to dispel it, Lance practically pounced on Keith with questions. “So… how was living with the Blade?” He donned a concerned expression, his eyes suddenly widening. “I didn’t… I didn’t pull you away from anyone important, did I?”

 

Keith took a moment to respond, finding himself distracted by the way Lance’s scar moved when he spoke. He pinched his thigh, punishing himself for losing focus. What the hell had come  over him? It didn’t even do anything too unique, it simply moved up and down. And yet, he couldn’t help but keep staring at it. He pinched himself again, forcing an answer out of his mouth. “No, not really.” The only person he had somewhat cared about had walked out on him around two years ago. “Kolivan isn’t really… I guess you’d say  _ big _ ,” assuming he was even using that correctly, “on personal relationships.”

 

“Kolivan sucks, then.” 

 

Keith stopped in his tracks, almost fainting at the way Lance spoke with absolute certainty, like he was decreeing galactic law. He noticed Keith’s shock, and elaborated, though barely holding himself from laughing. “I’m sorry, but… that kinda attitude really sucks. If you aren’t allowed to form any sorta bond with the people you fight with, what exactly are you fighting for?”

 

“We’re-” He quickly caught on to his mistake _ ,  _ hurrying to correct himself. “ _ They’re _ fighting for the freedom of the galaxy. Same as you.” He paused, his mistake taking a little longer to present itself to him. “ _ Us _ .” 

 

“Okay, I get that.” Lance kept walking, signaling Keith to follow him. “But even if you were to take down Zarkon, it’s an empty victory. What do you have to be happy about?” He paused, unsure if he should say what he was about to say. “Pidge is fighting to find her brother and father. Allura’s fighting to have some closure. I’m fighting so I can go back to Earth and see my family. And have some real food.” He paused, trying to end a lighter note. “Do you know what anyone on your old team fights for?”

 

“I… I usually work alone.” He paused for a second. “You’re the first person I’ve spoken to in that last two weeks.”

 

Lance’s expression was caught between disgust and soul-crushing sadness. “That’s… really messed up.” He paused again, seemingly trying to figure out what to say. “I told you Kolivan sucked, didn’t I?”

 

They continued to walk in silence, a strange and tense air between them. After what felt like any number of hours of walking, they reached the Red Lion’s hangar. Not very surprisingly, Keith was absolutely speechless. 

 

The beast stood in the center of the gigantic room, not nearly as big as Black but just as intimidating. A red forcefield glistened around the overgrown cat’s body, tinting everything around it. 

 

Keith stepped forward, not once breaking eye contact with the lion. He extended his arm, touching his fingertips to the glowing barrier. A moment passed, and nothing happened. He tried pushing his hand harder, to no clear result. 

 

“Come on, open up.” _ And let’s get this over with _ . Still, nothing. He stared at the beast for a few more seconds. Lacking any other options, he decided to try being friendly to the massive cat. “It’s me, Keith, your buddy.” He could hear snickering from behind him. “It’s  _ me, _ Keith, your-” That approach clearly wasn’t working. 

 

He dropped to his knees, thin armor clanging against metal floor. “Look.” He paused, suddenly realizing he had no idea what he wanted to say. Due to that, he decided to improvise. Maybe not the best idea, but it was the one he had. 

 

“I get it. I really do. I don’t want to be here any more than you want me to. But the fact is, you showed the team the coordinates to me. So either you pulled some grand, utterly pointless prank on everyone here, or I’m doing something wrong.” 

 

His voice was shaky, like he was on the brink of exploding into…  _ something _ . He wasn’t exactly sure why he was feeling  _ anything _ about the whole situation. He had never wanted this to begin with. He should call it quits and ask for a ride back to his outpost. And yet, he couldn’t help but be a little offended, looking up at that big red cat, and having it blatantly ignore him. 

 

“But I don’t care.” His voice carried a demanding tone, almost aggressive. He got up, touching his forehead to the forcefield. “I know I’m nowhere near your last paladin. Hell, I can’t even remember the guy’s name. But you called for me. Here I am. I don’t know if I’ll do a remotely decent job piloting you, to be honest.” 

 

He paused. He could feel his face warming up a little bit. His voice rose, more commanding and assertive. He looked back to Lance, who was holding a thumbs up. Filled with a small boost of motivation, he turned back to the lion. 

 

“But for what it’s worth, I spent five full vargas on my feet getting here.” He paused for a few seconds. Was this really his reasoning as to why he deserved to pilot a lion of Voltron? Well, it was too late to take anything back. “And for that, I think I  _ at least _ deserve a test flight.” And then he almost fell straight to the floor. 

 

The barrier disappeared almost instantly, leaving the room under the castle’s harsh, cold lights. The lion moved, eventually coming to kneel before Keith. It opened its gigantic maw, allowing its new pilot inside. 

 

He stepped inside, quietly smirking. He was half-expecting the lion’s mouth to snap shut, but nothing of the sort seemed to happen. The cockpit had no lights, even the lion’s eyes were blackened out. He stepped forward, still unsure of himself. He traced his hand over the seat, hesitant to take it. Once he did, he would be a Paladin of Voltron. Most children in the galaxy would have killed to be in his position. 

 

He looked at the controls, doing his very best to stall. It didn’t look too complex, though no ‘become an arm’ button immediately stood out. It looked almost worryingly simple, actually. Was  this really all it took to be a part of Voltron? Two handles and two buttons? He had  flown fighters with control more complex than this. A tad suspicious. 

 

Nothing too special happened. The screen in front of him remained darkened, and none of the lights around the cockpit so much as flickered. Carefully and slowly, almost painfully aware of what he was  doing, his every movement, he grabbed one of the handles. And then his head almost exploded.

 

It was like standing in the middle of a massive forest fire. All he could hear was raging flames, wood cracking and popping as it charred . He tried opening eyes, but all he could see was a massive wall of flames wherever he looked. He was pretty sure he screamed, but the fire drowned  _ everything  _ out. His hearing, his sight, even his sense of touch. 

 

He tried feeling for the other handle, but whatever he touched simply burned. He felt choked, a thick scent of smoke flooding his nose. His mouth gaped, desperate for air, but it was as though he breathed in pure heat. He reached for the handle again, doing his best to ignore the fact that he couldn’t even feel his own hand. 

 

And then it stopped. Well,  _ lowered  _ would be a more accurate term. He still couldn’t hear anything but roaring flames, but it wasn’t as maddeningly loud anymore. The heat around him was much less insufferable, almost pleasantly warm. Almost.  

 

He could feel his body, which on its own was a significant. His fingers were wrapped around something cold and metallic. He breathed in, taking in what felt like actual air, warm as it may be. The embers softly cracked one last time,  and the awful illusion dissipated altogether. He opened his eyes, finding a pink-tinted view of the hangar, so littered with stats it hurt is eyes. The lights around him glowed  a bright red, as well as the buttons on his handles. 

 

He jiggled one of the handles, smirking. He wasn’t sure what he was so happy about, but he was. The hangar doors opened in front of him. His smirk widening into a grin, he pushed both handles forward, as hard as he could . “Good kitty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you get to read him flying in the next one, don't worry im not a tease


	3. Leadership Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> poorly-described flight and a few pretty important conversations

The lion flew out of its hangar in less than a second, gliding through space at speeds Keith didn’t even think were possible. He moved the handles so roughly that the part of him that was still somewhat conscious feared they’d break off. The overgrown cat responded to nothing, instead going in whatever direction its mechanical mind pleased. It bounced from asteroid to asteroid as a child hops between puddles, no doubt leaving massive claw marks on the rocks.

 

The cockpit was dead silent, save for Keith’s wild laughter. He howled in something between terror and thrilled disbelief, watching space disappear under his display at speeds that should’ve turned him into paste. He leaned forward, his lips stretched in an excited grin. He slammed his thumbs against the the handles’ buttons, not even sure what he wanted the lion to do.

 

But it listened. He could hear a low rumbling, a hum passing under his feet. The lion stopped dead in its tracks, hovering idly in space. And then a massive beam of blue light came from under his display, a beacon in the suffocating bleak void. It connected with an asteroid, blowing the massive rock to smithereens in what would probably be a very loud explosion if it wasn’t in space. Keith pushed the buttons again, his grin widening. Another beam passed through the lion’s mouth, demolishing another block of stone. A rock flew past the lion’s display, heated to a point where it glowed an almost sickeningly-bright orange. It threw off sparks, little yellow dots instantly killed by the bleak vacuum of space. He watched it cruise by, a bit mesmerized by its dull glow. A moment passed quietly, a moment he used to sit and stare. 

 

He stared at the space debris floating by, wondering how much of a usual sight this was for the rest of the team. How often did they have to watch entire plantes get reduced to  _ this _ ? How many families and cultures did they have to watch get blown to nothing but rubble in an endless bleak void? How many planets is  _ he _ going to have to watch die? How many people were going to disappear into the flames before his eyes? His mind began wandering to further, darker places. He stared into the empty void of space, his eyes glazing over as the concept of time escaped him.

 

“Keith? You there?” A familiar voice snapped him back to reality, making him jolt in his chair. “You’ve been completely still for almost half a varga. Allura’s starting to get worried.” He looked up to the main display, finding Lance’s face contained within a small window. “You okay up there?”

 

He took a moment to answer, his mind still a bit scattered. He mumbled a few words, ineligible even to him. “I’m fine.” He forced a weak smile onto his face, doing his best not to worry Lance. “I…” He had no real explanation. How exactly do you explain spacing out for an entire varga? “I don’t know. Guess I fell asleep.” He almost cringed as he spoke, embarrassed by the horrible excuse. “Sorry if I made anyone worried.”

 

A voice came from somewhere outside the window, feminine and carrying a rather pleasant accent. “I am  _ not _ worried!” A hand entered the small screen, shoving Lance aside. It was barely a tap, but somehow it sent him flying and screaming. A crash could be heard. “Oh, quizna-” she stopped herself. “Sorry, Lance!” The face attached to the hand came onto the screen, bearing a cheery smile. The markings beneath her eyes glistened in the hangar’s cold light, making it seem like her whole cheeks glowed. “As I was saying, I was simply…  _ concerned _ about your bond with your lion. Forgive me if I’m being rude, but half a varga of stillness hardly seems like a good sign.”

 

He wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Part of him wanted to simply prove her wrong, to grab the handles and do some insane maneuver that could get him killed. Then again, what were the odds of the lion actually going along with whatever he would try? He sighed quietly, burying his gaze in the cockpit floor. “It’s fine. Everything’s fine.” He wasn’t entirely certain in the statement’s accuracy. He pulled the handles back, making the beast turn around and head back for the castle, slowly and quietly. The hangar doors slowly opened, revealing an empty landing for the lion to stand on and gather dust until it was needed next .

 

Meanwhile, on the command bridge, Lance watched the big red cat pull into the hangar, the air around him silent and tense. He trusted Keith, but he couldn’t help but feel a little concerned. What was going on during that varga? Did he  _ actually _ fall asleep, or did something else go down in that lion’s head? He shook his head, driving out any unnecessarily suspicious thoughts. Considering he just picked Keith up from a Marmoran outpost, the guy probably wasn’t talking to Galra command. He probably just needed some time alone, to fully process being a paladin. God knows Lance would need the same if he were in this situation. He turned his attention back to the screen in his hand, finding his new right hand stepping out of his lion. 

 

A quick elevator ride later, and he was at the hangar, finding Keith more than a few steps away from the massive feline. The air around him was still pretty somber, his shoulders dropped and his eyes practically buried in the floor. Lance wasn’t even sure if he noticed him being there.

 

“Hey, man, you alright? You really freaked me out with that.” 

 

Keith jumped in his place, looking startled. He took a few seconds to gather his thoughts, tucking his hair behind his ear. A bit too much hair for Lance’s taste, but it was cute somehow. “I already told you, I’m fine. I just spaced out for a little bit.” He continued walking, looking like he was fully willing to shove Lance out of the way. 

 

Knowing this, Lance moved out of the way. “If you say so.” He paused for a moment, feeling the awkward silence settling in. He followed Keith into the elevator, his back leaned against the curved metal wall. “You were great out there, you know.” He cracked a grin, doing his best to lighten the mood. “Until you stopped moving, that is. Really, though, I’ve never seen Red move like that.” Another pause. Keith remained silent, though he didn’t look as stoic as he probably thought he did. “So, what did you think about while you were  _ spacing out _ ?”

 

“Nothing.” He shot the word out abruptly, almost cutting Lance short. “Nothing important,” he quickly corrected himself. “Just got lost in the view, I guess.” A blatant lie, but what else was he supposed to say?

 

“That’s… cool, I guess.” What view? There was nothing up there but empty space, a few rocks, and freshly-made space debris. “No one’s mad at you for this, if that’s what you’re worried about.” The elevator stopped, revealing a long corridor full of doors. 

 

“This is where the bedrooms are, right?” His voice was monotone and flat, as if he didn’t even hear what Lance said. Maybe he didn’t.

 

“Yeah.” He replied quietly, a bit deflated. He understood why Keith wouldn’t immediately trust someone he’d met less than a day ago, of course, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit of a sting. He watched as Keith walked down the hall, his hair bouncing on his back with every step. Maybe he was just a bit too used to everyone being nice to the mighty Black Paladin. The doors closed in front of him, leaving him alone in a coldly-lit tube. 

 

Another short elevator ride passed by, and he was on Black’s hangar, leaning against her claws. His jacket’s hood was pulled up, wrapping his head in a strangely comforting warmth. He’d been rambling to the lion for a few dobashes, looking up at her chin. “So yeah, that’s the situation with our newest recruit. Don’t suppose you have any leadership advice?” The massive cat didn’t reply to him, instead continuing to vacantly stare into the hangar doors. “Didn’t think so.” He got up, stretching his arms. He turned around, finding himself face to face with the gigantic V embedded onto the lion’s chest. He sighed quietly, tilting his head back. He’d get through to Keith eventually. Hopefully.

 

“Lance?” Allura’s voice snapped him back to reality.

 

He turned on his heels, finding the source of the voice. She walked towards him, looking a bit nervous. “That’s me. Is everything okay?” He pulled his hood down, running his fingers through his hair. 

 

She sat down next to him, her legs dangling off the massive pad. “Everything’s fine, it’s just…” she hesitated for a moment. “I needed to talk to you.” She paused, hesitating again. “About Keith.”

 

A tad surprised, he sat down next to her. “Alright. How did he already manage to piss you off?”

 

She stared at him for a few seconds, confused. 

 

“What did he do to make you angry?” He couldn’t help but chuckle through the words. He would have to properly explain earth slang to her. “He’s been here for a varga, tops.”

 

“He didn’t do anything to anger me.” She paused again, the silence lingering for a bit longer. “It’s just…” Another pause, for even longer. “I don’t know how comfortable I am with having him on the team.”

 

The statement hit him like a brick.  _ Of course _ she’d be uncomfortable with him being around. “I’m sorry. I should’ve checked with you before rushing out to get him.” 

 

“Yes, you should have.” She paused, looking straight down into the void under the hangar. “I’m sorry, I know this is awful of me, but-”

 

“What?” he interrupted her, rather confused. “Why would this be awful of you?”

 

She stared at him, shocked. She started and abruptly stopped a few sentences, stuttering. “The Red Lion made a choice. I should respect that, shouldn’t I?” She rested her head on his shoulder, weighing him down a bit.

 

“Probably.” He shrugged with his free shoulder. “That’s one cat you don’t wanna piss off.” He cracked a somewhat smug grin with the last few words. She nudged him, probably playfully but still a little to hard for his taste. “But it’s not  _ awful _ of you to be uncomfortable with having someone like him around.” 

 

“What if we can’t form Voltron because I don’t trust him?” Her voice carried something between fear and concern, soft and somewhat shaky. “Besides, you saw him out there! He clearly wasn’t in control.”

 

“Really? I thought he did fine. I’ve never seen Red move like that.” Besides, he already told him he did great, so whatever advice he gave now would just seem rude. “So what do you think should happen now? Do we kick him off the team?”

 

“Of course not!” She elbowed him in the ribs, making him fold in half and almost fall into the void below the hangar. “You  _ just _ said we should respect his lion’s choice!” She sounded shocked, taking her head off Lance’s shoulder. 

 

Once he regained balance, and scooted a few inches back, he put on a somewhat amused smile. “It’s called  _ sarcasm _ , Princess. I swear I explained it to you a while back.” 

 

“So what do you think we should do?” Her voice carried a tone of uncertainty, her gaze dropped into the bleak abyss. “Could you talk to him? Make sure he doesn’t plan anything too harmful?” She turned to him, her eyes looking somewhat saddened and her markings glowing. 

 

“How about  _ you _ talk to him?” He suggested plainly, as if the idea was obvious. Well, it was to him. “I mean, you’re the one who has a problem with him, right? Shouldn’t  _ you _ talk to him, clear the air?”

 

“Do you really think I should?” She sounded genuinely surprised, which in turn surprised him. “I can’t just go to his room and speak my mind, can I?”   
  
“Why not?” He was genuinely curious as to her reasons, even if it was because he assumed they’d be funny. “Y’know, if you’re worried about forming Voltron with the guy, communication is a big part of teamwork.”

 

“What if thinks I don’t like him because he’s Galra?”

 

Lance tilted his head at her, like a confused puppy. “Why don’t you like him, then?” He smirked, having a pretty good idea of what her answer might be.

 

She looked down again, blushing. “Of course I’m uncomfortable with him being Galra, but I can’t have him  _ know _ that, can I? What kind of team are we supposed to be if this is the first thing I tell him about myself?”

 

“I guess you’re right.” He lied down, the hangar’s near-freezing floor cooling his back a bit. “I don’t know what to tell you, Allura. I think he’s a good pilot. We  _ did _ find him on a Marmora base, so I’m inclined to trust him.” He paused, mainly for dramatic purposes. “He’s also kinda hot, but that’s beside the point.” They chuckled in unison. “If you have an issue with him, I really think you should take it up with him personally. Besides, I hate being the middleman.” He paused again. “I can’t believe you tried to puppy-face me. I’m the one who  _ taught _ you that!” He laughed through the words.

 

She sighed deeply, accepting her fate. “You’re right. I should talk to him. I don’t know what to say to him, but I guess I have the elevator ride to figure it out. Thank you, Lance.” She got up, dusting off the back of her thighs. “You’re a better leader than you think you are.”


	4. Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a few pretty important conversations with lance being sexy and a little bit of angst in the middle

The room was nicer than Keith expected. It was bigger than the one he had on the outpost, at least. He popped his breastplate off, discarding the metal to the floor. He sat on the bed, his knife resting against his thigh. He sat there quietly, letting the castle’s warm air flow over his face. He took a deep breath, letting his shoulders drop. A calm slowly washed over him, and the stress of the last few minutes slowly dissipated. 

 

He pulled his bayard out of his belt, trying get a better understanding of the weapon. But nothing happened. Confused, he tried commanding the device. “Transform.” The arch remained in his hand, unchanged. “Activate.” Once again, nothing. He stared at it in slight frustration, trying to come up with more words that might work. “I’ve done this before. I’ve done this less than hour ago! Why won’t you work?” He stopped himself. He was yelling at piece of metal. He tossed it aside, smiling in amusement at his own idiocy.

 

He lay down, his back relaxing for the first time in maybe a week. He stared at the ceiling blankly, trying to comprehend his new situation. His entire life was just pulled away from him, and he wasn’t too sure if he liked his new one.

 

His thoughts were interrupted by someone knocking on his door. The sound startled him, almost foreign to his ears. “Come in.” He decided he liked actually having control of his privacy.

 

The door opened, revealing the Altean girl, whose name escaped him for the moment. She took a few steps inside, making a displeased face at the discarded bayard. After kicking the thin breastplate out of her way, she sat on the edge of Keith’s bed, next to his knee. “I need to talk to you.” Her voice was cold and harsh, almost angry. 

 

He sat up, his hands resting on his knees. He looked straight down, nervous to make eye contact. “Did I do something wrong already?” 

 

She chuckled nervously, trying to relieve the tension. “Lance asked me the same thing.” She paused, leaving them in an uncomfortable silence.  “It’s just…” she paused again, seemingly unsure of what exactly she wanted to say. “You’re Galra, right?”

 

The question seemed almost idiotic to him. “Of course I am. Wouldn’t have this if I weren’t, right?” He ran two of his fingers across his cheek, tracing his marking. Then again, he’d never met another Galran that looked like him. “Why do you ask?”

 

“It’s just…” she repeated herself, hesitating. “I think you’d understand why some people would be…  _ uncomfortable _ with someone like you being on the team. I just wanted to-”

 

“You don’t want me around.” He spoke bluntly, cutting her short. He wasn’t going to sit there and listen to her dance around the point. “I get it. I’ll ask Lance to give me a ride back.” He started getting up, reaching for his armor.

 

The Altean girl pressed her hand against his thigh in response, practically pinning him down to the mattress. “You can’t leave. Like it or not, you’re a part of Voltron now.” She paused again, hurriedly taking her hand off his leg. “We just need to sort a few things out.”

 

“Like what?” He let out a dry chuckle. “You wanna put a curfew on me?” 

 

“No, of course not!” She let out a smile, amused by the idea. “I just want to make sure you’re not up to anything that’ll hurt the team.” 

 

“You picked me up from a Marmora outpost. Do you really think I’m best friends with Zarkon?” He was almost offended at the question. 

 

“I don’t know!” She sounded frustrated, either with him or the situation in general. “I just need to know that you aren’t.”

 

“I’m not.” He was beginning to get tired of her. “Are we done here?”

 

“I don’t think we are.” Her voice took a harsher tone, almost aggressive. “I’m sorry, but I can’t have a Galra soldier on my father’s ship without knowing his exact intentions.” She paused, taking a second to calm herself down. “So what  _ are _ your exact intentions?”

 

“I don’t know!” He leaned back, smacking his head against the wall. “I haven’t even been here for a full day!” He didn’t even want to be there. “I don’t  _ have _ any intentions.” He paused, once again leaving them in a rather uncomfortable silence. “Avoid death, I guess. Figure out that dumb thing.” He gestured in the floor’s general direction. “And I’m not a Galra soldier, for the record.”

 

“What, your bayard?” She picked it up by one of its prongs, looking it over. “Is it malfunctioning?” 

 

“I don’t know. Worked fine when I first picked it up.” His voice was monotone, devoid of emotion. 

 

“Well,” She placed it next to him, “it’s only as powerful as your desire to use it. If you’re having trouble getting it to work, maybe you should think about how much being a paladin means to you.” Her voice carried a judgemental tone, borderline condescending. With that, she exited the room.

 

Keith lay back down, staring into the ceiling. What did being a paladin mean to him? Absolutely nothing, for the moment. Why would anyone assume anything else? He only became a paladin a week ago, only actually joined the team a few vargas ago, and he had barely survived his lion’s test flight. Was he expected to hop in his armor and go fist-fight the entire Galra empire? And what did the bayard have to do with any of that? It was a piece of curved metal that didn’t even work properly. Or maybe it  _ did _ work properly, and the problem was with him. 

 

Frustrated with, well, everything, he stuffed his bayard under his pillow and stormed out of the room. He was alone in the empty hallway, with no idea where he wanted to go or how to get there. He probably wouldn’t even be able to find his way back to Red’s hangar. He walked into the elevator, finding himself staring at a panel of buttons that meant absolutely nothing to him. He leaned against the curved wall, his frustration welling. “Take me to the training deck.” He needed to run his blade through something. Did the elevator even take voice commands? Did the ship even have a training deck?

 

To his surprise, the elevator started moving. It’s monotone whirring was somewhat calming, like an engine’s hum. His muscles relaxed, the tension of the last few minutes slowly leaving his body. He let his shoulders drop, the soreness in them hitting him like a brick. Had they always been this tense?

 

The elevator stopped, snapping him back to reality. Its doors opened, revealing a display that almost literally took his breath away. The sight in question was Lance, back in full armor, surrounded by a swarm of flying, orb-shaped droids. He held a black-and-white rifle, sleek and featureless. He was completely absorbed in the droids, not even noticing Keith walking in. His gun’s constant blasts reflected off his visor, creating a blue mask over his eyes. He shot through the droids effortlessly, hitting them like he was aiming at a meteor. The whole display was…  _ impressive _ , to say the least.

  
  


And then he noticed Keith, coming into view behind a flying ball that was shot down. He was thrown off focus, leaving his back open to get peppered with a barrage of particularly annoying streaks of light. He shook his head and turned on his heel with his finger around the trigger. He closed his eyes, taking in the helmet’s stale, warm air. He pulled the trigger, his eyes snapping open. It only took a few seconds, and five or so orbs hit the ground, all decorated with a smoking hole. 

 

He cracked a self-satisfied grin and turned around once more, his bayard vanishing in a purple flash. He slowly slid his helmet off his head, savoring the first hit of the ship’s cool air. “Yo.” He ran his fingers through his hair, wringing out some of the sweat. “D’you need something?”

 

Understandably enough, Keith needed a moment to form an answer. “N-No, I just…” He lost himself in Lance’s eyes, his train of thought derailing. Another few seconds passed by. “Just needed to stab something.” 

 

“Alright… have fun. I won’t get in your way.” He started toward the elevator, walking around Keith. A few steps from the door, he stopped in his tracks. “Did Allura talk to you?” His voice conveyed something between curiosity and concern.

 

Keith drew his knife, clutching the grip hard enough for his knuckles to go white. “Yes.” The blade glowed a brilliant violet, slowly morphing into a black Galran backsword, its curved edge glistening in the room’s cold light. “Why do you think I feel like stabbing something?” Its weight was almost comfortingly familiar. _ Almost. _

 

“Okay… do you wanna talk about that? Maybe hash it out with her?” Lance regretted the words as soon as they escaped his lips, remembering that exact advice is what triggered the situation to begin with. 

 

“This’ll go away on its own. I don’t need to talk to anyone.” Either that, or one of them would leave the team. With any luck, it would be him.

 

“Are you sure? I won’t force you to do anything, but I think being able to communicate with the team would make you a better paladin.” He shrugged, continuing towards the elevator. “I’ll be in my room if you need anything.”

 

Keith tapped his fingers on the grip of his blade, the sound of Lance’s boots stepping further and further from him echoing in his ears. He wanted to say something, but he had no idea what to say, or if Lance even actually cared. He parted his lips, and a weak, pathetic sound came out just as the elevator doors closed behind him.

 

Of course. The one opportunity he had to actually talk to someone, and it slipped right between his fingers. Of course. He sat down, tossing his blade aside. His need to stab something quickly faded, leaving an almost overwhelming amount of self-doubt in its place. What kind of paladin was he supposed to be if he couldn’t even hold a conversation with his leader? How was he supposed to be part of Voltron when the second person he’d talked to wanted him off the team? For fuck’s sake, he couldn’t even use his bayard. Maybe Allura had a point. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to be a paladin. Maybe Red had made a mistake. He followed that line of thought, his sense of time slipping as he contemplated darker and darker ideas.  _ I should leave the team. I shouldn’t have come in the first place. I’m only a replacement, how hard could it be for them to find someone else? _

 

A few floors above all that, Lance crashed into bed, his armor scattered on the floor next him. He sunk into the mattress, his head falling to the side. His eyes met his breastplate, and he couldn’t help but feel like the black V painted on it was staring right at him. Some leader he was. He was supposed to help resolve this whole mess, and he just went and made it almost infinitely worse. Exemplary leadership, really. The stuff of legends. He turned on his side, giving himself a lovely view of the wall. Maybe he should step away from the team. Hand the armor over to Shiro and take the back seat for a while. Shiro would probably be a better leader. And pilot. And fighter. And everything else. Probably. 

 

This rather melancholy line of thought was cut short by Allura barging through the door, her steps heavy. “I was awful to him.” And her voice heavier. 

 

“So I’ve heard. Well, so I  _ inferred _ . He wouldn’t actually tell me anything.” He paused, chuckling. “Other than that you put him in a stabby mood.”

 

“I imagined that would happen.” She sat beside him, moving his knees and everything below them aside. “I don’t think I’m very good at conversations.”

 

“I have to call bullshit.” He paused, aligning the rest of his body with his knees. “You’re pretty good at conversations. I think you just don’t like him, so you let yourself get angry at him faster.”

 

“I didn’t get angry at him.” She paused, doubt quickly seeping into her thoughts. “At least, I don’t think so.” Doubt made room for a slight panic. “Oh, gods, what if thinks I hate him?”

 

“Don’t you?”

 

“No!” She paused, actually thinking about the question. “Well, not  _ him _ specifically. I don’t think you’ll be surprised to learn that I generally dislike all Galra.”

 

“What about the Blade?” He immediately felt like slapping himself, remembering that Kolivan happily left seventeen-year-old alone on some meteor for two weeks. Maybe he was a lousy friend too, in addition to an awful leader. “Dumb question. Let’s move on.” He paused, giving her time to protest. “What did you actually say to him?”

 

She took a few seconds to respond, trying to come up with phrasing that wouldn’t make it sound as horrible as it was. “I may have implied that he shouldn’t be a paladin.” She lowered her head, expecting some manner of yelling. 

  
“ _ Ay, dios mío _ .” About a million other things to say, most of them in Spanish and all of them highly inappropriate, stood at the tip of his tongue, but he held back. “Not a great move, I have to say. Though, he didn’t seem too pumped about it in the first place, so I don’t know how bad this really is.” He paused, considering the entire situation. Every direction he went in gave him a headache. “Give me a few minutes, I’ll try to untangle this ungodly mess.” Maybe he should just talk to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes she said gods plural alteans are polytheistic fight me


	5. Awkward Neutrality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...really long and really gay dialogue. that's pretty much it.

The training deck was surprisingly intact, all things considered. Lance expected at least two dismembered robots and their members lying around, and maybe a few slashes on the floor. But he found the massive hall almost exactly the way he left it, with the only noticeable difference being Keith sitting with his back turned to him, as opposed to standing with his back turned to him. Lance  stepped towards him, a bit nervous. He sat beside him, gently tapping his shoulder. “Hey, man.” Had Keith even noticed him coming in?

 

As it turned  out, the answer was ‘no’. Startled, Keith made a sharp turn, jumping whatever it was that had come  at him and pinning it to the floor. A second passed. His hair fell out of his eyes, and he realized the thing he’d pinned was Lance. And that his hand was flat against Lance’s  chest. His knees were perfectly aligned with Lance’s hips, which led to the realization that he was kneeling over him. Keith quickly jumped off, his face heating up. “Sorry.” He paused, gathering his thoughts. He’s been doing that a lot since he boarded the castle. “I...” He had no excuse. His mouth dried up, and he was pretty sure his face actually had gone red.

 

“It’s fine.” Lance pulled himself up, straightening his jacket. “So…” He wasn’t entirely sure how to address the situation. It was probably best to just cut straight to it. “I talked to Allura.” He raised his hand as Keith’s head spiked up, putting a preemptive stop to any questions. “She doesn’t feel too great about how your little heart-to-heart went.”

 

Though he was somewhat confused at the phrase, the meaning got through to Keith perfectly. Or at least, understandably enough. “And why is that?” He wanted to end on some snarky remark, but everything that went through his head would make him sound like some bratty, moronic child.

 

“This whole bayard crap.” Lance tried  to understand how to even address the situation. “You know what she told you doesn’t mean anything, right? You don’t _have_ to use your bayard to be a paladin.” Not entirely true, but there was no point in mentioning that. “You can use your nifty little scimitar thingy, if that’s what works best for you.” He chuckled  softly. “Hell, Hunk barely uses any weapons _at all_ and he’s probably a better paladin than I am.” He waited  for some sort of response. None came. “Allura’s probably just a little freaked out ‘cause of your test-”

 

“She doesn’t like me because I’m part-Galra.” Keith cut him short, his voice monotone and objective, almost carrying a bored tone. “I don’t need you to sugar-coat anything for me.”

 

Lance let out a deep, tired sigh. He wanted to avoid the subject, but what was he really expecting? “Yes, I assume that plays a part. Can’t say I blame her, though. Most Galra I’ve met tried to kill me, so I can’t say I’m a big fan.” The remains of his smile faded . “I can’t even _imagine_ what she must feel like.”

 

“I don’t blame her, either. I don’t even mind her not liking me.” Keith stared straight ahead, avoiding Lance’s eyes. “It’s just…” The words stood on the tip of his tongue, but he found it almost impossible to take them any further. He remained silent for a few seconds, awkwardly staring at  the walls. “Even if she didn’t mean it,” he finally managed to say , “she was right. I don’t think I’m meant to be a paladin. I don’t have control of my lion. I’m a risk to take on any missions.” He wasn’t quite sure how Lance would react. He didn’t. “I’m just a placeholder, aren’t I? How hard can it be to find someone else?”

 

“Red is unbelievably picky, so I’m guessing pretty hard.” Lance let  a soft smile through. “It’s actually a pretty huge deal that she picked you only a few days after the last guy went down. You should feel pretty special.” His tone was casual and relaxed, almost completely carefree. All that, despite the fact that he was perfectly aware of every word out of his mouth, sporting a somewhat mischievous grin to reflect it.

 

“Thanks, I guess.” Though his mood was somewhat lifted, Keith still wasn’t totally convinced, and his tone reflected that. “I still had no control over the damn thing.” The pure joy that feeling gave him aside, he couldn’t help but feel like that’s not a quality a Paladin of Voltron should have.  “I don’t get it. If the lions can move like that on their own, why do they even need a pilot?”

 

“That’s an excellent question. I can’t answer it, but it’s a great one.” Lance chuckled softly, letting his back relax a small bit. “I think it has something to do with quintessence, but I’m not sure. Allura might know more.” The air between them turned somewhat awkward as he slowly realized what just escaped his lips. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

 

He remained quiet for a few more seconds. The awkwardness in the air grew thicker as he let his mind sink into the matter. “Look, I don’t know what to do about this thing with Allura.” He lay down sprawled, the floor’s chilliness seeping through his jacket to his back. “I told her to talk to you, and here we are. Any ideas?”

 

“I told you, I don’t mind her not liking me. If she has a problem with me, it’s hers to solve.” The words slipped through his mouth before he could really think about them, but he was fairly certain he meant them. Why was it up to him to solve a problem he didn’t care about? “I’m happy to just stay out of her way until this goes away.”

 

“That’s not how being a team works, Keith!” Lance  threw his arms up dramatically, holding them up for maybe a second and letting them collapse onto his chest. “I’ll cut you some slack, since you’re not used to it, but that’s… a really, _really_ shitty way to look at things.” He hoisted himself to onto his feet. He paced around Keith for a bit, very much aware of the purple eyes staring directly at him. “Besides, _staying out of her way_ won’t really be an option in the long run. Voltron, and whatnot.”

 

Keith was only half-listening, directing the other half of his attention to how Lance’s arms flailed and gestured as he spoke, and how his voice lowered almost to a growl as it took on a more assertive tone. He realized Lance had stopped talking, and he hurried to come up with a response to what little he had heard. “And who decided I have to be a part of Voltron?” Well, as far as he’s been told, Red had, but he found it somewhat difficult to pin any blame on an oversized robotic cat.  


“That’s not the point! It doesn’t matter why, or who, or how. You’re the Red Paladin now, and that means you need to get along with the other four! Or at least… I don’t know, try aiming for awkward neutrality.”

 

Keith tucked his legs against his chest, his forehead resting on his knees. He stared straight down, feeling his head was too heavy to hold up. Lance’s words echoed in his head, bouncing from one dark thought to the other. How could anyone think he was _supposed_ to be a paladin? He hasn’t been part of the team for a full day, and he had already managed to piss someone off just by being around. He knew he shouldn’t be too surprised, but knowing that still stung a bit.  

 

Noticing Keith’s rather grim position, Lance sat beside him, taking a deep breath. He was filled almost to the brim with guilt, leaving a tiny bit of room for the desire to rip his own tongue out. He was being a dick. The last thing Keith needed was people being dicks to him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.” What kind of leader was he supposed to be? Twice he’s tried to fix this, and twice he’s just made it worse for everyone. “I’m just… so _done_ with this entire thing.” Maybe he wasn’t supposed to lead. Maybe he was supposed to ask for a ride back to Earth.   
  
“Look, I’m gonna be straight with you.” He couldn’t help but smirk. “No one handled this perfectly. I could’ve done better, you could’ve done better, Allura _definitely_ could’ve done better, but this is just how it is.” He sounded like his dad, explaining why he couldn’t have a puppy. Not exactly the vibe he was going for.   
  
“That came out wrong. What I’m saying is, I have absolutely no idea what to do. It’s not gonna be resolved by me talking to either of you, and we’ve seen what happened when you tried talking to each other.I guess… the best we can do is hope this goes away on its own.” He barely held back laughter, he sounded so idiotic. “Maybe she’ll calm down a bit after your first mission together, and she sees you’re not all evil.”

 

All Keith had really taken  away was that he’d handled it badly. He knew as much, but hearing someone else say it somehow made it worse. On the other hand, what exactly was he supposed to do differently? Sit there and listen to her yell at him, then politely promise to… what? Be less Galra? He’d love to, it wasn’t really much of a choice. And besides all that, he couldn’t even get his lion to fly in a straight line. Going on any missions seemed like some far-fetched fantasy, and finishing them with any amount of success felt like outright fiction. He wanted to bring that up, but he knew that would only result in more pointless reassurance, and at this point he felt like he was fishing for it.   
  
And beyond control of his lion, beyond whatever the quiznak was going on with Allura, he still had no idea if he even wanted to be a paladin. “Look, I didn’t ask for this. I never asked to be completely removed from my old life .I never asked for some weird shape-shifting weapon that doesn’t even work right.” Even though whatever malfunction it had was entirely his own fault. “And I didn’t ask for some princess to judge me based on the fact that my face happens to have purple stripes on it.” He paused, calming himself down. He could feel his face warming up, the blood rushing near his ears. He took a deep breath. “Actually,” the words escaped his mouth before he could think about them, for the gods know how many-th time, “I’d love a ride back to Marmora headquarters.”

 

“You know I can’t do that, Keith.” Lance let out a long, tired sigh. From one annoying, pointless argument to the other, so it seemed. “Once a lion makes a choice, there’s really no changing its mind. Especially Red, she’s almost as stubborn as  you are. It’s like you were made for each other.” Lance Álvarez-McClain, master of subtlety. “Besides, even if I _were_ to let you leave the team, which I’m not going to, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you go back to Kolivan, so it looks like you’re stuck with us.” He let a few seconds pass in silence, trying to come up with something a touch cheerier to end on.

 

“I’ll tell you what,” he finally continued, his voice significantly more chipper. “We’ll talk after your first mission.” He noticed Keith lifting his head to protest and lifted a stern finger, nipping whatever the boy had to say in the bud. “See how you click with the rest of the team, have your first go at being my right hand man, maybe pull off a few rescues. Then we’ll see how you feel about everything, and work our way from there. Sounds good?” Whatever Keith’s  answer would be, he didn’t really have much of a choice.


	6. New and Shiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lance reminisces about cuba, the illuminati is there

Keith slowly slipped into consciousness, feeling more comfortable than he had in maybe three years. His head was halfway buried in his almost unbelievably soft pillow and the mattress was warm against his chest. A blanket was pulled over his head, leaving him in a strangely comfortable darkness.  All in all, he liked his new bed a touch better than the moldy cot he used to have. Maybe he could get used to his new life. Unlikely, but maybe. 

 

If it were up to him, he would’ve stayed in that bed all day, digging into his mattress and trying to make up for sixteen years of terrible sleep. But unfortunately, life, and apparently Lance along with it, had other plans. He heard someone banging on his door, followed by yelling. “ _ Levantarse y brillar, querido! _ It’s like 9 A.M. in Texas, hop to your feet!” He didn’t hear any footsteps walking away. Was Lance just  _ hanging around _ outside his door?

 

Keith muttered as he pulled himself out of bed, not quite tired but certainly not happy to be up. “Getting yelled at by someone I haven’t known for a full day. No better way to start the day.” Grumpiness aside, he preferred the current scenario to jolting awake after three hours of restless sleep, lying in a freezing hole in the dirt, serenaded by laser fire buzzing over his head. He hurriedly put on his suit, happily leaving the armored plates behind. 

 

He stepped out of the room to find Lance leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.The answer was  _ yes _ , Lance was in fact just hanging around outside his door. There were a million things he could’ve noticed first, like how tall Lance was, or how his skin glistened in the castle’s lights, but what caught his attention were Lance’s eyes, which seemed to pierce right through him. He felt exposed, even though he hadn’t even done anything to be exposed for. A few seconds passed in a somewhat uncomfortable silence before Keith mustered the energy to speak. “What’s a  _ texas _ ?”

 

Lance covered his mouth, not very successfully holding back a series of giggles. “It’s a place, back on Earth. We actually first found Blue there!” It seemed like forever ago, stumbling into that cave. Maybe it was, actually. Keeping track of time was hard when it was always dark out. “Can’t really say it’s my favorite place there, but it’s alright if you’re into scorching deserts and guns.” He started walking towards the elevator, gesturing for Keith to follow. 

 

Neither sounded particularly appealing to Keith, but Lance’s phrasing piqued his curiosity. “What  _ is _ your favorite place on Earth, then?” He tried to think of his own favorite place, but realized most places he’d been to were now a smoking pile of rubble, mainly because of his own actions. 

 

“My abuela’s house, back in Cuba.” Lance spoke without a single second of hesitation, almost as if on cue. “I used to go there all the time when I was a kid. It always smelled like garlic bread, which is an  _ incredible _ smell by the way. And it had this porch with a breathtaking beach view. God, I could just lie there for hours, soaking up the heat and watching the ocean.” Lance could almost  _ feel _ the sun on his skin, the wind blowing in his hair. “And there was always some really good candy somewhere around the kitchen. I had to see the dentist every two months because of her, but she never heard a single complaint. Not from me, anyway.” 

 

His words echoed in Keith’s ears, making more of an impact than he probably realized. Whoever this  _ abuela _ person was, Keith was pretty sure he would’ve loved her house. Just the idea of just relaxing in the sun and enjoying the heat instead of sweating his soul out in the heat of battle sounded like some ridiculous fantasy. “Sounds nice.” Going off the assumption that it, too, was a place on Earth, he decided to ask. “What was Cuba like?”

 

About a million different images flooded into Lance’s mind. His old room, filled with posters for all those terrible shows he used to love. The way his old bed used to smell, and how he’d have to sleep with five blankets because his house had no heating. The sound of his sister’s laughter, and the little chocolates her girlfriend would give him every time she came over. But most of all, he thought of the beach. He thought of the sound of waves crashing against the shore, and the feeling of sand under his feet. He could feel the near-freezing water coming up to his chest, and the taste of a virgin pi ña colada dancing on his tongue. His old boyfriend's voice echoed in his mind, giggling through his terrible food at one of Lance’s terrible jokes. He wiped away a tear, his mind slowly sliding back to Keith’s question. “It was… pretty great.” He avoided going into detail, telling himself it was to avoid boring Keith. “I think you would’ve liked the beach.” He took a deep breath, calming himself down a bit. “Maybe I’ll take you there if we ever go back to Earth.”  _ If. _ Home wasn’t a guarantee. 

 

Keith remained silent for a few more seconds, struggling to respond. He wasn’t quite sure there was anything to respond  _ to _ . Whatever this place was, it clearly meant something to Lance. And all he could think about was how he didn’t have that. He didn’t have anywhere he was connected to, as strongly as Lance or at all. He had nowhere he could call  _ home _ . When he thought of his past, all he could see was his cold quarters and Kolivan, and he wasn’t a huge fan of either. He could barely even picture his mother’s face. He had no connection to anything before the day before. “Yeah.” He forced out a smile. “The beach sounds nice.” 

 

They entered the elevator, the conversation coming to a not-so sudden stop. There was an air of silent awkwardness around them, accentuated by the elevator’s barely audible, yet somehow almost deafening, mechanical whirring. Lance was still sunken in thoughts of home, and Keith was in the midst of imagining a day at the beach. At least, one where he wasn’t being shot at and carrying someone’s body. A moment passed, still in silence. 

 

“Why did you come get me?” Keith’s voice pierced the silence, startling Lance a small bit. “Are we going anywhere special?” Strangely enough, part of him hoped so. Never mind the fact that most new places usually meant deafening explosions and an annoying amount of blood to wash out.

 

Lance took half a second to re-gather his thoughts, running his fingers through his hair. "Not really. Unless you consider breakfast a special occasion.” He was half-joking, but some small part of him couldn’t help but remember that he had no idea what the Marmoran food condition was like. Who knew, maybe the poor guy only got to eat once every few weeks. “Didn’t want you to get lost, I guess.” That seemed like a plausible-enough excuse. “Why, was there anything you wanted to do?”

 

Once again, Keith was left speechless. It was an unfamiliar experience, being asked what he wanted. He looked down, noticing lots of tears and blood stains on his suit. A few other stains, too, but he would rather not think of those. “I could use a new outfit, actually.” 

 

Without even a second’s pause, Lance’s face lit up. “We’re going shopping!” A gigantic, dumb grin stretched across his face, and he barely held himself from bouncing up and down. “It’s gonna be so much fun!” He already had the entire day planned out, or at least somewhat visualized. Mainly himself, sprawled across the floor, surrounded by… He wasn’t sure yet, but it was new and shiny. “We can take Allura, she would  _ love _ something new and sparkly, and-” He rambled on for a few more seconds before noticing that Keith had been staring at him with his eyes filled with worry.

 

“Oh, right.” He felt like an absolute idiot for a fleeting instant, but that soon made room for a sense of optimism, though a tad delusional. “I know, I know, you have that…  _ stuff _ going on with her, but not getting along doesn’t exempt you two from group activities.” Nothing helped incredibly sensitive species relations like picking out each other’s outfits. 

 

“Really?  _ Group activities _ ?” Keith allowed himself to crack a smile. “You’re gonna bring everyone else, too?” His voice carried a sarcastic tone, which came as a surprise to him. He didn’t even know he could  _ be _ sarcastic. 

 

Lance looked somewhere off to the side for a few seconds, then let out a quiet grunt of defeat. “ _ Fine. _ I wanted to go shopping with my alien friends. What’s so wrong with that?” The elevator stopped, and he stepped out before Keith could give him a proper answer. “Besides,” he casually continued, not looking back, “Allura would quite literally throw me across the training deck if I went shopping without her.” He continued walking toward the massive table.

 

Keith was seconds away from a complete shutdown. Lance considered him a friend. They’d barely known each other for a day and Lance already considered him a friend. What was he supposed to make of that? His first instinct was to dismiss it, to tell himself that Lance called everyone he knew for more an hour a friend. But for the first time in… a while, his instincts felt  _ wrong _ . It felt  _ wrong _ to just assume the worst. He took a single step forward, his body heavy and barely responsive. Maybe Lance was just being nice. Maybe he considered the entire team his friends. His mind was swarmed with similar thoughts, the world around him slipping and fading away. He took a few more steps forward, some tiny part of his mind hoping to not bump into anything. 

 

“Keith? Everything okay?” Lance’s voice snapped him back to reality. “You’re… kinda worrying me.” It slowly dawned on him that Lance was inches away from him, and that he was staring into the ridge of his nose. 

 

He took half a step back. The rest of Lance’s face came into focus, revealing the concern in his eyes. Once again, Keith felt pierced through, exposed, his mind momentarily setting aside the fact that he had nothing to hide. “I’m fine.” He barely convinced himself. “Just got lost in thought, I guess.” He already used that excuse, and it didn’t go well. He walked around Lance, making his way for the table. He could hear footsteps behind him, slowly catching up to him. He didn’t convince Lance of anything. All he did was stand still for no reason, then make a terrible excuse for it. As Keith walked towards the table, he noticed, not very subtly throwing a less-than-friendly look at him before turning away. 

 

Keith sat down and found himself staring down a bowl of shapeless, shiny green goo. He picked up a spoon and poked at the substance. Deciding he wasn’t hungry anymore, he put the spoon down.

 

“It tastes better than it looks, dude.” A voice that certainly wasn’t Lance’s came from behind him, startling him a bit. “But if you don’t want it…” The body attached to the voice pulled out the chair next to him. He extended a massive hand, wearing a friendly smile. “I’m Hunk.” A second passed, and Keith shook the hand. That’s what he was supposed to do, or at least, so he believed. “You already know that, actually.” The guy let out a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. He let go of Keith’s hand, resting his own on the table. “We’ve met. Yesterday. When Lance brought you in.” He chuckled once again, his nervousness more obvious. 

 

Keith couldn’t help but let out a tiny bit of quiet laughter. “No need to be so nervous. I’m not that scary.” So he believed, at least. “Wait, am I scary?” He let another chuckle, a tad afraid to hear the answer.  

 

“Well, it’s not really  _ you _ . It’s more your  _ vibe _ , y’know?” Hunk fidgeted with his spoon, tapping it against the table. “Alien dude coming over from the Space-Illuminati, showing up with your suit all torn up and bloody. It’s a spooky vibe.”

 

“Lance is taking me shopping, apparently, so-” Keith stopped mid-sentence, struck with confusion. “Space-illuminati?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry this took so long,,,,,,,,,,,,,,writing machine broke i guess


End file.
